Visitor Oyster Card London

Looking for the most cost-effective way to travel around London? Be sure to get a Visitor Oyster Card - a rechargeable smartcard that easily allows you to travel on public transport in London.

Forget about buying individual tickets every time you travel - simply top up your card with credit and you’re good to go!

Why Buy a Visitor Oyster Card for London?

Accepted everywhere – use on most London public transport, including Tube, buses, Tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services

Reusable and flexible – choose the amount of pay-as-you-go credit you need

It never expires! Use it again on your next trip to London or pass it on to friends of family

Save up to 50% on your travels –a Tube journey in central London costs £2.40 with Oyster or £4.90 with cash; a single journey on a London bus costs as little as £1.50 with Oyster

Save time - Your card is ready to use as soon you arrive in London, no need to queue at ticket machines; simply touch in and go!

Price capping – travel as much as you like; your card will automatically cap at the best daily fare, allowing you to travel stress-free across the capital

Use your card on Heathrow and Gatwick Airports and save extra! Simply use your Visitor Oyster card to get from these airports to London and back

Night Tube: Travel all night on Fridays and Saturdays on the Victoria, Jubilee and most of the Central, Northern and Piccadilly line at the same price as a day ticket

Get up to 26% discount on the Emirates Air Line Cable car and up to 19% discount on single journeys on Thames Clipper river boat

Enjoy additional exclusive offers and discounts at top restaurants, shops and venues across London simply by showing your card

How to Use Your Visitor Oyster Card

Using your Visitor Oyster Card is easy: simply place your Oyster card on the yellow card readers at the start and end of your journey on Tube, London Overground and National Rail services. On buses and trams, you only need the yellow card reader at the start of your journey.

If you run out of credit, top up at any station or at thousands of shops across London.

Travelling with children?

There is no child version of the Visitor Oyster card, but there is a child Travelcard, which is available from our shop

Oyster Cards can be used on:

London Underground (the Tube)

Overground and National Rail trains in London

London buses

South London trams

Docklands Light Railway (DLR)

The Thames cable car (Emirates Air Line)

You can also receive a 10% discount on Thames Clipper river boats and Circular Cruise operating from all London Piers.

This is a selection of the most common FAQs. For further information, please click on the blue box on the right-hand side.

How do I get an Oyster Card? Can I buy an Oyster Card online?

Buy your Oyster Card from the VisitBritain Shop and it will be mailed to you at your home address, fully activated and ready to use for when you arrive in London.

Should I get a London Travelcard or Oyster card?

The Visitor Oyster card is a contactless smartcard that carries credit which you can use to pay for journeys on all public transport on the Transport for London (TfL) network. It is valid in all travel zones and automatically calculates the cheapest total fare for all the journeys you make in a single day.

The Travelcard is a paper London travel pass which is valid for either a single day or seven days, and is available for certain combinations of travel zones. It is also valid on all public transport on the TfL network.

Whether you should get the Travelcard or Oyster card depends on how long you’re staying in London and how frequently you’ll be using public transport.

If you are in London for a week and plan to use only the central London Travelcard zones on a daily basis then a 7 day Travelcard might be the most cost-effective option. If you plan to stay in London for a shorter time or want to travel to the outskirts of the city, the pay-as-you-go Oyster card cost might be cheaper.

How much does it cost to travel with an Oyster card?

Visitor Oyster cards deduct credit every time you make a journey. After you make several journeys in one day, you will reach a daily limit, and the rest of the journeys on that day will be free.

Different journeys cost different amounts, depending on which zones you travel in and what time of day you travel. Daily limits ('caps') also vary according to these factors

What if I run out of credit on my Visitor Oyster card?

If you run out of credit, you can top up your card at any station or at thousands of shops throughout London. You can also make one bus journey without any credit. The cost of the journey will be deducted when you next top up your Oyster card.

There are three ways for you to obtain a refund on a Visitor Oyster card:

Refunds at Tube station ticket machines

You can get up to £10 refunded from your Visitor Oyster card at Tube station ticket machines.

Touch your card on the yellow card reader on the ticket machine, select 'Oyster refund' and follow the on-screen instructions (available in different languages). You’ll be shown the amount of the refund due, which will be paid back in cash dispensed from the ticket machine.

Your Visitor Oyster Card will be cancelled. This means that you won’t be able to use it for future travel. You can still use the card to take advantage of the special offers and discounts available with the card.

Refunds at Visitor Centres

You can take your Visitor Oyster card to all London Visitor Centres except Gatwick, to get a refund on any remaining credit. This will be paid in cash or refunded to your debit/credit card. Your Visitor Oyster Card will be returned to you, but cancelled. This means that you won’t be able to use it for future travel. You can still use the card to take advantage of the special offers and discounts available with the card.

Here is the list of the Visitor Centres within London:

Euston National Rail Station

Gatwick Airport North terminal arrivals hall

Gatwick Airport South terminal arrivals hall

Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 Underground station

King’s Cross Underground station

Liverpool Street Underground station

Paddington National Rail station

Piccadilly Circus Underground station

Victoria National Rail Station

Refunds by post

To get a refund by post, you can send your Visitor Oyster card with a letter explaining why you’re returning it to: